Norwegian F-35As to carry Joint Strike Missile
Joint Strike Missile. (Photo: Kongsberg)
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace announced on 21 October that it will arm the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) fleet of F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft with the Joint Strike Missile (JSM), under a NOK3.95 billion ($473 million) contract.
The JSM is currently being adapted by Japan and Norway and can be stored internally by F-35As for anti-ship and land-attack missions.
The RNoAF Norwegian Air Force operates 22 F-35As with another 30 on order.
Kongsberg noted that its partnership with the Norwegian Armed Forces and Norwegian Defence Research Establishment in defining, developing and testing JSM ‘has been [a] critical factor in developing a missile with such advanced capabilities’.
Shephard Defence Insight notes that the JSM is a multirole version of the Kongsberg/Raytheon Naval Strike Missile. It has a 230kg HE blast-fragmentation warhead with a range of between 185-555km, depending on profile.
In July 2021, BAE Systems obtained a contract to support JSM with stealth technologies such as radar-absorbing material.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
M-345 officially enters service as trainer for Italian Air Force
The Leonardo M-345 High-Efficiency Trainer (HET) basic/advanced trainer is similar to the M-346, which is the second part of the Italian Air Force’s training system, but is a substantially smaller and less powerful aircraft.
-
Belgium’s F-35A order progresses at it awaits first jet delivery by late 2025
The first aircraft delivery timeline confirmation comes as Belgium weighs up an additional F-3A buy from Lockheed Martin.
-
Trump’s drone directives win US industry support but questions remain over ability to challenge Chinese market dominance
New presidential directives for UAV production are intended to remove bureaucratic barriers and support suppliers.
-
Enhancing education: How CAE is embracing new technology to boost military training
In Conversation... Shephard's Gerrard Cowan talks to CAE's Marc-Olivier Sabourin about how the training and simulation industry can help militaries achieve essential levels of readiness by leveraging new technology, innovative procurement methods and a truly collaborative approach.
-
Paris Air Show 2025: Airbus Helicopters unveils new crewed-uncrewed teaming solution
The solution, named HTeaming, has already been tested in flight with a Spanish Navy H135 helicopter and an Airbus Flexrotor uncrewed aerial system (UAS).